Taylor Lorenz, journalist and author of Extremely Online, joins Eric Newcomer to push back on the moral panic around phones, social media, and screen time. Taylor argues there is no such thing as social media addiction, that age verification laws do more harm than good, and that the groups pushing child protection legislation have their own agendas. She and Eric also get into the surveillance state, anonymous speech online, why podcasters are secretly taking money to book guests, and what the creator economy has gotten badly wrong.
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Chapters:
00:00 Cold Open
00:12 Meet Taylor Lorenz
00:55 The Age Verification Fight
02:40 Phone Habits and Addiction Myth
06:06 Who Is Actually Writing These Laws
08:28 Anonymity vs Real Names Online
21:54 Why People Are Angry at Tech
33:13 The Surveillance State Debate
36:13 Gunshot Detectors and Civil Liberties
37:43 Politicians Who Actually Get Privacy
38:46 Creators vs Journalists
43:04 The Secret Money Behind Your Favorite Podcasters
47:26 Censorship and COVID Lessons
01:00:36 Audience Capture and Staying Independent
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